Placing an elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility can be a heart-wrenching decision. Millions of families each year have to consider placing a parent or grandparent in a facility where their medical needs and day-to-day living needs can be met. We would like to think that the people with whom we entrust their care will provide the same standard of care we gave, but, sadly, that is often not the case. In fact, nursing home abuse and neglect is becoming an epidemic in the United States, and what is taking place in these homes is despicable.

Egregious, various forms of elder abuse are taking place across the country, and thousands of elderly patients are being neglected every day.Each year in the United States, an estimated 2.1 million seniors are the victims of some form of abuse. What is even more shocking is that for every case of nursing home abuse and neglect that is reported, there may be as many as five more cases that go unreported. Research suggests that abused elders tend to die earlier than seniors who are well cared for, even in the absence of life-threatening and chronic conditions.

While physical abuse is the most prevalent type of elder abuse, senior citizens are also suffering emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.

Some of the more common signs of physical abuse of the elderly are:

Unexplained bruises and cuts

Torn or bloody clothing

Broken bones

Emotional abuse of the elderly may include:

Intimidation through yelling and threats

Humiliation

Ignoring the patient

Isolating the patient from other residents and/or activities

Terrorizing the patient

Mocking the patient

If your elderly loved one has been neglected, you may notice:

Medications not being administered or administered improperly

Soiled clothing or bed linens

Unsanitary living conditions

Malnourishment/dehydration

If your elderly loved one has been abused in a sexual nature, he or she may suffer from or show:

Bleeding around the genital or anal area

Venereal disease

Bloody undergarments

Bruises around the breast/genital region

Financial exploitation is actually the most common form of non-physical abuse of the elderly. An unscrupulous caregiver may: